[DISCLAIMER!
These are the definitions we use at RRU, which are generally the most common.
However, some funding programs will use different definitions. For example,
most provincial/territorial student loan programs start the Academic Year on
August 1, however some funders start on September 1. When in doubt contact your
funder or the Financial Aid & Awards team at RRU.]

Awards Definitions

Award:

A generic
term, including any award that may be based on a combination of academic and
non-academic criteria including scholarships, fellowships, grants, bursaries,
medals, plaques, or prizes.

Bursary:

A monetary
award based primarily on demonstrated financial need. The purpose of a bursary
is to provide students with a supplemental source of income, which, when added
to other major sources of income, will provide the funds necessary to defray
educational expenses. A bursary is a private matter and is generally not
publically recognized or on a curriculum vitae.

Fellowship:

A
fellowship is typically a large scholarship, usually open for competition at
the graduate or post-graduate level, and often offered to support a graduate
student or new faculty researcher working on a research project.

Grant:

Grants are
often assessed based on an outline of the costs of a specific research project,
with these assessments often paying less attention to the resources already
available to the applicant (i.e., financial need is not a factor). Grants are
most often geared towards, and awarded to, faculty researchers.

Loan:

A loan is a
need-based award that must be repaid, often with interest.

Prize:

An award
that is typically offered as a reward for something that is already completed
and is often given in the form of something tangible like a medal, book, gift
certificate, or trophy.

Scholarship:

A monetary
award provided on a competitive basis that is primarily based on outstanding
academic achievement or excellence in a specific subject or group of subjects.
The aim of a scholarship is to encourage further development with significant
investment. Generally the term “scholarship” is reserved for awards valued more
than $5,000.

Unforeseen:
A event/position for which you could not have planned. This does not include
the normal cost of living and education.

Critical financial need:
All other financial resources have been exhausted and persistence in the
program is dependent on receiving financial assistance.

Reasonable financial need:
Financial need does not far exceed the value of the award offered in
competition.

Temporary financial need:
There is a reasonable plan in place for making necessary financial obligations
but timing on receiving funding does not meet payment deadline dates.

Student Loan Definitions

Academic Year:

At
RRU the academic year runs from August 1 to July 31 of the following year. When
applying for government student loans, the date your study period begins
determines which academic year application form you use.

For
example, if your study period started in September 2018 you would use the
2018-2019 academic year application form.

Course load:

Your
course load is the number of credits you are taking over a specific period of
time. Course load is expressed as a percentage of a full course load.

Full-time studies:

A student
is considered to be full-time when enrolled in at least 60% of a full course
load (40% for students with permanent disabilities).

At
RRU, a 60% full-time course load is 18 credits in 52 weeks for bachelor
programs and 9 credits in 52 weeks for masters programs.

IMPORTANT!
Your student loan lending province may have other criteria for a full-time
course load. Visit the RRU website for more information on government
student loan eligibility.

Part-time studies:

Students
enrolled in 20% to 59% of a full course load are considered part-time.

Province of residence:

The
Canadian province in which you have lived most recently for 12 continuous
months excluding any time spent in full-time post-secondary studies.

Study Period:

A period
of time during which an eligible student is enrolled in courses administered by
a designated post-secondary institution. The study period is used to determine
the amount of student loan funding an applicant is eligible to receive.

The
minimum study period length is 12 weeks and the maximum length is 52 weeks.
Note that a study period may be different than the academic program’s start and
end dates.